The Updated European Hematology Association Research Roadmap
Authors: Andreas Engert, Francesco Cerisoli, Jan Cools
Journal: HemaSphere (2022)

The European Hematology Association (EHA) Roadmap for European Hematology Research was developed in 2015, and the first version was published in February 2016.1 The aim of this project was to increase the visibility of European research in hematology and to better inform European policy makers and other stakeholders about the urgent clinical and scientific needs. Moreover, the Roadmap was also an ideal document to set the priorities for hematology research, to raise more public awareness for blood disorders in Europe and to involve research organizations, basic, and clinical researchers as well as patient advocates. The original Research Roadmap article discussed normal hematopoiesis and more than 60 different disorders, including malignant lymphoid and myeloid diseases, as well as anemias and related diseases, platelet disorders, blood coagulation and hemostatic disorders, transfusion medicine, infections in hematology and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Over the past years, we have witnessed a rapid progression in research, new drug developments as well as a number of emerging new fields in hematology research. We therefore felt that it was already necessary to update the Roadmap and include the new topics. The updated EHA Research Roadmap identifies the most urgent priorities in hematology research and clinical science, therefore supporting a more informed, focused, and ideally a more funded future for European hematology research. The first EHA Research Roadmap identified and summarized priorities in terms of new treatment approaches.1 Several of the new therapies have now been introduced and have radically changed the treatment of hematology patients. These include checkpoint inhibitors in Hodgkin lymphoma and a range of new effective drugs and drug combinations in chronic lymphocytic leukemia, one of the most common leukemias of adults in western countries. Similarly, new combination regimens have also substantially contributed to the improved outcomes of multiple myeloma patients. In addition, major advances have been achieved in the management of infectious complications, new insights have been gathered on the coagulation abnormalities in patients with severe COVID-19, and new drugs have been introduced in the field of platelet disorders, to name only a few fields where new challenges have been identified and progress has been made. We are also at the beginning of a new era of medicine exploiting genes and cells as novel therapeutics, where European research can play a leading role. These updates and new developments have now been taken into account in the new EHA Research Roadmap articles. In 2019, there was already an update on the EHA Research Roadmap on Hemoglobinopathies and Thalassemia,2 and since June 2021, we have published the new chapters on each of the EHA Research Roadmap topics: Hematopoietic Stem Cell Gene Therapy, Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Allotransplantation, Transfusion Medicine, Infections in Hematology, Normal Hematopoiesis, Anemias, Blood Coagulation and Hemostatic Disorders, Malignant Lymphoid Diseases, Malignant Myeloid Diseases, Platelet Disorders, and Immune-based Therapies for Hematological Malignancies.3–13 We hope you find this series of updated EHA Research Roadmap articles of interest and of value when you write manuscripts or project applications and when you interact with policy makers or the general public. AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS All authors conceptualized and wrote the article. DISCLOSURES AE reports personal fees outside of the submitted work from Takeda, AstraZeneca, Merck Sharpe & Dohme, Janssen, Innovent, TS Oncology, and Hexal AG; he is an editor for HemaSphere. JC is an editor for HemaSphere. The authors have no other relevant financial disclosures to report.